Project for Empty Space (PES) is turning 15! To celebrate this milestone, we are excited to host our annual fête, the Badass Art Woman Awards, in splendid form with a theme of La Resilience. This year’s soiree will be held Monday, September 29, 2025, from 6:30 - 11 pm at the Angel Orensanz Foundation in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. 

This year’s honorees are Dr. Deborah Willis, Chair of the Department of Photography & Imaging at Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, Ebony L. Haynes, Senior Director and Curator, 52 Walker, and Helen Toomer, Founder, Stoneleaf Retreat and Upstate Art Weekend and Co-Founder of Art Mamas Alliance.

Fifteen years ago, Project for Empty Space was founded with a simple goal: to create spaces where artists and communities could come together to create and imagine new possibilities. We didn’t start with a building, a budget, or even a single city to call home. What we had was a deep conviction that art holds the power to bring about meaningful change. From the very beginning, we understood that working at the intersection of art and social justice would require us to confront challenges head-on—from political resistance to economic instability and cultural forces that seek to divide or silence.

110 EDISON PL, NEWARK - La Voz del Anonimato (The Voice of Anonymity) is a solo exhibition by 2025 Artist In Residence Layqa Nuna Yawar, on view from September 10, 2025 through January 18, 2026.

800 BROAD ST, NEWARK - 800 BROAD ST, NEWARK - Fine Line is a solo exhibition by 2025 Artist In Residence Jake Troyli, on view from September 10, 2025 through January 18, 2026.

128 BAXTER ST, NYC - The Space Between Light is a solo exhibition by Shoshanna Weinberger at PES FUTURES, on view from September 3, 2025 through January 18, 2026.